UFC 333 brought a scenic and high-stakes backdrop to the UAE’s capital as Abu Dhabi hosted the promotion’s 24th event in the city. The action-packed card featured two high-profile championship bouts, showcasing elite skill and resilient performances across a five-fight main card that is guaranteed to shake up high-ranking matchups across multiple divisions in the coming months.
From championship trilogy conclusions to undefeated records falling on the global stage, the night delivered memorable finishes and set the stage for compelling future pairings as fighters look to climb back toward title contention or defend their hard-earned status.
Movsar Evloev
Alexander Volkanovski put on another phenomenal performance in the main card headliner of UFC 333 on Saturday night. Braving a closely contested opening round, the former featherweight champion weathered the early storm to secure a textbook technical knockout finish over top-ranked contender Movsar Evloev in the second frame.
The high-stakes loss marked the first defeat of Evloev’s 21-fight professional career, halting an incredible run of momentum. Despite the setback, the Russian standout remains a formidable force in the division, holding a 10-1 record under the UFC banner since first signing with the promotion in 2019.
Looking ahead, Evloev’s next appearance inside the Octagon should come against another elite contender. A matchup against Jean Silva presents a logical and exciting pairing that carries a very real chance of materializing. Volkanovski, meanwhile, could very well find himself pursuing a lucrative super-fight or contemplating his future near the top of the sport. Silva has put together an impressive 7-1 record in the UFC since graduating from the Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023. His sole promotional blemish came against multi-time title challenger Diego Lopes in September 2025.
Silva’s recent resume includes victories over Arnold Allen and Jose Delgado—who stepped in on short notice for an injured Yair Rodriguez—in September. Because of these timelines, the timing aligns reasonably well for a clash between Evloev and Silva. Provided that Evloev did not sustain any lasting damage from Saturday’s punishing TKO loss, this contest could easily serve as the main event of a Fight Night card, offering the 32-year-old Russian a direct path back toward championship contention.
Merab Dvalishvili
In the co-main event, Petr Yan successfully defended his bantamweight title in another instant classic against his all-too-familiar rival, top-ranked Merab Dvalishvili. Yan earned the victory by way of a unanimous decision after five grueling rounds, effectively winning the pair’s historic trilogy.
For Dvalishvili, the defeat marks a difficult turning point. He is now 14-4 inside the UFC and has dropped two consecutive bouts, having previously lost his belt to Yan last year. That championship loss snapped what had been an extraordinary 14-fight winning streak for the Georgian grappler.
As Dvalishvili looks toward his next opponent, matchmaking presents a unique challenge because he has already faced practically every athlete in the top five while clearing out the division during his championship reign. Introducing fresh blood to his next assignment would be ideal. With Dvalishvili turning 36 in a few months, matchmakers have a couple of viable directions to consider.
Mario Bautista stands out as a very deserving candidate within the bantamweight division, offering an intriguing stylistic matchup. Bautista boasts a 12-3 record in the UFC and has triumphed in 10 of his last 11 outings dating back to 2021. His lone defeat during that stellar run came just two bouts ago against top-ranked contender Umar Nurmagomedov. Since then, Bautista has stopped Vinicius Oliveira and earned a hard-fought unanimous decision victory over Cory Sandhagen. The only real hurdle for this potential pairing is timing, as Bautista was last in action against Sandhagen in mid-July.
As a solid backup option, a wilder matchup could pit Dvalishvili against rising prospect Payton Talbott. Talbott has compiled a 6-1 promotional record since earning his contract on the Contender Series in 2023. He carries considerable hype despite a 2025 loss to Raoni Barcelos. Since that setback, Talbott has rolled through Felipe Lima and secured high-profile victories over former champions Henry Cejudo and Deiveson Figueiredo, whom he finished in the first round earlier this month. Pitting an intriguing, rising young contender against a grizzled veteran like Dvalishvili would offer a fascinating dynamic that aligns much better timing-wise.
Ramazan Temirov
On the preliminary side of high-level performances that impacted the broader conversation, Lone’er Kavanagh delivered a stellar showing against Ramazan Temirov, securing a stunning first-round TKO victory courtesy of a series of perfectly placed punches at the conclusion of a highly competitive opening frame.
This bout marked the largest stage Temirov had competed on under the UFC banner to date, making the result a difficult pill to swallow for the 29-year-old. Temirov now holds a 3-1 record in the UFC and stands at 20-3 overall as a professional, suffering his first defeat since 2019.
To bounce back, Temirov should be matched against the loser of the upcoming matchup between Asu Almabayev and Kyoji Horiguchi, which is scheduled for November 21st. That timeline would provide ideal recovery and preparation spacing. Almabayev sports a 7-1 promotional record, with his only blemish coming via a somewhat controversial decision loss to Manel Kape in March 2025. He has since rebounded by defeating Jose Ochoa while stopping both Alex Perez and Charles Johnson in his three most recent appearances.
Horiguchi, meanwhile, holds a 9-2 overall record across his two stints with the UFC. During his current tenure, he has gone 2-1, having stopped Tagir Ulanbekov in late 2025 before defeating Amir Albazi in February, though he was most recently stopped by Manel Kape. Either competitor would provide an exciting, edge-of-your-seat matchup for Temirov as he aims to re-establish his momentum.
Rizvan Kuniev
In the heavyweight division, Alexander Volkov cruised to a unanimous decision victory over Rizvan Kuniev, threatening his former training partner with a late submission attempt in the closing stages of the bout. Kuniev, who made two appearances on the Contender Series in 2021 and 2024, now holds a 2-2 record in the promotion. The loss snapped a promising two-fight win streak that included victories over Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Tyrell Fortune.
While previous matchmaking ideas were explored following the event, the heavyweight landscape offers alternative options that make sense for Kuniev’s next step. A compelling pairing would see Kuniev face Waldo Cortez-Acosta. Cortez-Acosta is currently riding a two-fight skid, having suffered setbacks against Alexander Volkov and, most recently, Curtis Blaydes last month. Because of these recent results and shared common opponents, the timing and matchmaking logic line up well. Cortez-Acosta is 10-4 with the promotion since transitioning from the 2022 Contender Series.
As a backup plan, the promotion could look toward rising heavyweight Mario Pinto. Pinto is an undefeated 13-0 product of the 2024 Contender Series who has finished all but one of his four UFC opponents thus far, most recently stepping into the Octagon against Ryan Spann last month.
Losene Keita
Kicking off the main card with explosive fashion, Aaron Pico secured his first knockout under the UFC banner by stopping Losene Keita in just 74 seconds with a devastating right cross. For Keita, the defeat drops his promotional record to 1-2, a tally that does not factor in his scuttled 2025 debut attempt where he missed weight at 149 pounds for a scheduled bout against Patricio Pitbull. Keita has seen a few major opportunities slip through his fingers since joining the organization, having also dropped his official debut via a split decision to Nathaniel Wood.
For his next outing, Keita should be matched against veteran action-fighter Doo-Ho Choi. Choi was previously discussed as a potential opponent for William Gomis following UFC 331, but a matchup against Keita fits the stylistic and competitive landscape much better. Choi maintains a 6-4-1 record inside the UFC dating back to 2014 and is widely recognized as a reliable candidate for Fight of the Night honors.
Most recently, Choi saw a four-fight unbeaten streak snapped when Patricio Pitbull finished him in the opening round. Pairing Keita against Choi makes a tremendous amount of sense for the UFC, especially considering Keita was originally booked against Pitbull for his planned promotional debut. With similar timelines and both fighters coming off stoppage losses, this pairing guarantees an entertaining main card spectacle.
